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Court: Samsung can't sell tablet in Germany
Business Law Info |
2011/09/09 15:28
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A German court rules that Samsung Electronics's Galaxy Tab cannot be sold in Germany because it violated patents of rival Apple's iPad2.
A Duesseldorf state court said Friday it would not allow Samsung, based in Seoul, South Korea, to market its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany because it too closely resembles the iPad2.
Already in August, the court had ruled in favor of Apple, based in Cupertino, California, forcing Samsung to withdraw its tablet from the market.
Samsung challenged the ban. The companies are involved in a series of legal disputes in countries around the world over allegations that each copies the other's technology. |
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EU court puts limits on modified honey
Business Law Info |
2011/09/07 09:48
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Honey that contains traces of pollen from genetically modified crops needs special authorization before it can be sold in Europe, the European Union's top court said Tuesday, in a judgment that could have widespread consequences on the bloc's policy on genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The ruling from the European Court of Justice came after several Bavarian beekeepers demanded compensation from their government for honey and food supplements that contained traces of pollen from genetically modified maize. The beekeepers had their hives close to fields where the Bavarian government was growing Monsanto's MON 810 maize for research purposes. The EU has strict guidelines on authorizing and informing consumers about foods containing GMOs — a policy that has caused problems for producers of genetically modified seeds such as U.S.-based Monsanto Co. that are used to much laxer rules in other parts of the world. Kelli Powers, a spokeswoman for Monsanto, said the company could not provide detailed comment on the ruling until the firm had a chance to read the entire judgment. But Powers emphasized that the company's engineered corn seed has been approved as safe for human consumption. |
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Court signs off on Comcast takeover of NBCU
Business Law Info |
2011/09/02 12:58
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A federal court has approved the government's conditions placed on Comcast's takeover of NBCUniversal. In an order Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., tacked on a two-year oversight period that aims to protect competitors who want to distribute NBCUniversal video content online. He ordered the government and Comcast to report annually on online video competitors who attempt to arbitrate disputes either through the Federal Communications Commission or an arbitration process set up as part of the takeover. Comcast took 51 percent control of NBCUniversal in January after paying General Electric Co. $6.2 billion and contributing channels worth $7.25 billion to the new entity. Among other conditions, the Justice Department and the FCC forced Comcast to relinquish decision-making power related to its minority stake in online video service Hulu. |
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Industry applauds ruling on city gas drilling ban
Business Law Info |
2011/08/16 14:28
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A court ruling that invalidates Morgantown's ban on Marcellus shale gas drilling gives West Virginia's oil and gas producers the certainty they need to keep expanding operations, an industry leader said Monday. "We all along believed the city of Morgantown and some other communities in the state don't have the right to pre-empt the regulatory powers of the Department of Environmental Protection," said Corky DeMarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association. "It would be very, very difficult for the DEP to do any oversight with the potential of 100 different sets of rules to comply with," he said. On Friday, Monongalia County Circuit Court Judge Susan Tucker delivered a victory to Charleston-based Northeast Natural Energy in its legal battle with the city of Morgantown. Northeast is drilling wells above the Monongahela River about a mile from a city drinking water intake. Citing concern over its water supply and the lack of tough state regulations, the City Council passed an ordinance in June to ban deep horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing within city limits and up to a mile beyond. |
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Regulators shut 4 small banks in 3 states
Business Law Info |
2011/07/15 19:27
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Regulators on Friday shut down four small banks in three states, boosting to 55 the number of U.S. bank failures this year.
The overall pace of closures, however, has slowed this year as banks work their way through piles of bad debt. A slow, but improving U.S. economy also has helped stem the number of bank casualties this year. By this time last year, regulators had closed 96 banks.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized High Trust Bank in Stockbridge, Ga., One Georgia Bank in Atlanta, First Peoples Bank in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Summit Bank in Prescott, Ariz.
The action brings to 16 the number of lenders to collapse this year in Georgia. In Florida, the tally is now seven, while in Arizona it's now two.
High Trust had about $192.5 million in assets and $189.5 million in deposits, while One Georgia had about $186.3 million in assets and $162.1 million in deposits. First Peoples had about $228.3 million in assets and $209.7 million in deposits. |
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Bernanke: Fed ready to act if economy worsens
Business Law Info |
2011/07/13 18:43
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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers Wednesday the Fed is ready to act if the economy gets weaker. He warned them that allowing the nation to default on its debt would send "shock waves through the entire financial system."
Underscoring how fragile the economy remains two years after the Great Recession, Bernanke laid out three new steps the Fed could take, including a fresh round of government bond purchases designed to stimulate economic growth.
"We have to keep all the options on the table. We don't know where the economy is going to go," Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee.
The Fed chairman stopped short of promising anything, but Wall Street appeared comforted that the central bank was poised to act. The Dow Jones industrial average was up more than 150 points during his testimony to Congress, and closed up 45.
But some of the early stock gains were lost after Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said in a speech that the Fed had already "pressed the limits of monetary policy."
The nation was creating about 200,000 jobs a month this spring. But hiring slowed almost to a standstill in June, with 18,000 new jobs. It takes about 125,000 a month just to keep up with population growth.
While Bernanke made his twice-yearly appearance before Congress, lawmakers and the White House were trying to salvage talks on how to reduce the federal deficit and whether to raise the limit on what the government can borrow. |
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